Who is Hayley Westenra

Hayley Westenra is a New Zealand soprano who sings a wide repetoire of songs from light classical to pop.

Her singing talent was first spotted when she was six and was selected for the lead in a school musical. Her teachers were so impressed they encouraged her parents to arrange music lessons for her.

By the time she was 11 she had appeared in over 40 local productions and talent quests.

At 11 she and her younger siblings, Sophie and Issac, started successfully busking (performing on the street) around her home town of Christchurch.

Requests by tourists and other passers-by for recordings of her voice led her to produce a 1000 copies of an album with the help of a friend.

She sent a copy to some local record companies and was offered a contract by Universal New Zealand when she was 13 years old.

This led to her being offered an international contract by Decca.

Her first international album "Pure" went straight to the top of the classical charts in the UK and to number 8 on the pop charts.

It was the fastest selling debut classical album of all time in the UK and is the highest selling classical album of the century so far.

At the time of writing she is 21 and has produced several more albums and is in heavy demand for concerts.